LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two 16-year-olds have been arrested in connection with a shooting at a school bus stop that left one teen dead and two others injured.
The juveniles, whose names were not released due to their ages, were taken into custody Wednesday on multiple charges, including complicity to murder, complicity to first-degree assault, and complicity to second-degree assault, reports ABC News. Both are students at Jefferson County Public Schools.
The victim, 16-year-old Tyree Smith, was killed during the Sept. 22 drive-by shooting. Smith and two other students who were injured, a 13-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl, were waiting to take a bus to Eastern High School.
“I had to hold the wound of a little boy and tell him he was going to be OK,” a witness told WHAS following the shooting.
In a news conference Thursday announcing the arrests, Louisville Police Chief Erika Shields called Smith an “all-star student” and said he “was doing everything we ask of kids and he’s murdered while standing waiting on his school bus.” Police say the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.
Tyree’s mother, Sherita Smith, said her family is grateful for the support they’ve received, reports The Courier-Journal.
“I am thankful that the suspects are caught and not only do they need to be held accountable for their actions but their parents need to held accountable for their kids’ actions especially when a human life was taken,” she wrote in a text message.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher said authorities are continuing to fight gun violence in the city that is taking “a human toll that pre-dates COVID-19 and will continue long afterward, if we don’t pull together and find new solutions.”
“Public safety is my No. 1 priority, and every department in Metro government is focused on the challenge of gun violence, getting guns off the streets and holding people accountable for these acts of violence,” he continued.
Louisville has had a record number of homicides this year. According to Louisville Police data, of the more than 175 homicides so far in 2021, 165 were from shootings, and at least 22 of the victims were 17-years-old or younger. There have also been more than 540 nonfatal shootings in Louisville this year.
